Loving Once Again
by Starrie
Summary: Sakura and her fiancee were in love and soon to be married. a horrible accident changes everything. sakura blames syaoran for her fiancee's death yet she begins to fall for him. will they be able to love or will the past haunt their future? ch.4 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Starrie: Hey everyone! It's me, yet again, coming to you with what probably will be my last fic in Sad right? sad, but hey, a great thing too. I've been so succesful here that it's amazing, never in my wildest dreams would I have had imagined to recieve suh positive feedback. As a present to all my reviewers, here's my last fic. I hope it meets up to your expectations, I'm giving it my all. Thanks once again and please, do review. it means a lot to me to know what you guys think. thanks a bunch! .

Chapter 1

"Kenshin!!"

A 23 year-old with bright emerald-green eyes and a shoulder-length auburn hair ran forward and flung herself into the arms of her fiancee. Her melodic laugh filled the airport as he held her tightly and swung her around.

"Sakura"  
He whispered softly as he placed her down the floor and gently ran a hand along her cheek.

"I missed you"  
He murmured softly as he bent down and gave her a small, gentle kiss. Sakura returned the kiss gratefully. Once they separated, she stared into his dark-blue eyes lovingly,

"No more traveling for you mister. You are going to stay on the ground from now until the wedding day!"

Kenshin threw his head back as he laughed at his fiancee. His wavy dark-brown hair gleamed in the sun. He brought her closer to him and touched his forehead with hers,

"Your wish is my command, my dear"

Sakura's smile widened as she hugged him once again.

"Thank you honey. Now lets get going, Tomoyo is waiting for us outside!"

* * *

"These are the last of the reservations!"

Sakura called out as she walked into Kenshin's apartment with a stack of mail in her hands. It had been nearly three weeks since Kenshin had returned from his business trip and they had spent all that time planning for their wedding. She took a seat next to him and opened each of the envelopes.

"Honey, who's this?"  
Sakura asked as she pulled out en envelope with nearly perfect handwriting. Kenshin looked up from the catering list he was looking at and smiled,

"That's a friend I met back at Hong Kong University, Syaoran Li."

"Really? You never mentioned him to me."

"Really I haven't? I could have sworn I did. Anyway, he was a really good friend of mine. He's really busy now a day running his family's corporation though. It's a tough job for someone his age. I'm glad I'm not him!"

"Oh wait a minute, you _have_ mentioned him! he's the one you asked to be one of your groomsmen but told you he couldn't, right?"  
"Yes, that's him. I feel bad for the guy. He's young and yet he's tied down because of all the responsibilities his family puts on him. He's great though; you'll really like him. He's always been there for me, never once has he let me down. I'm glad you'll finally get to meet him! It'll mean a lot to me if you two get along"

"I'm sure we will, honey. He seems like a great person. Oh by the way, he checked off that he's coming alone. He's not bringing a date?"  
Kenshin leaned his head on Sakura's shoulder to take a peak at Syaoran's card.

"I guess not. He's picky when it comes to women, I guess he hasn't found the right one yet. See the problem is that most women find him attractive and don't even bother to get to know him. That bothers the crap out of him. Then there are those who are not only attracted to him, but also to his money. Those he hates with a passion"

Sakura let out a laugh,

"Your friend seems to be a very complicated person"  
Kenshin laughed along with her,

"He is. I hope he finds a girl soon though, one can't live alone. Life is too long and can be lonely when you don't have someone you love by your side"

Sakura smiled and turned to look at her fiancee,

"That's true. But we don't have to worry about that because soon, we're going to get married, and we'll spend the rest of our life together!"

"I can't wait!"  
Kenshin then jumped on Sakura, splattering the envelopes everywhere and began tickling her.

* * *

"Mr. Li, Mr. Li!!!"

"Yes? I'm over here!"

A tall man with glasses ran into Syaoran's office, breathless.

"Ken what's wrong?"  
Syaoran asked as he put down his pen and looked at the man in front of him. Ken was flipping through files and looked like a train wreck.

"Something's going on with the company's computer programming system. The data that was imputed earlier this week can't be retrieved. The programmers are going crazy trying to figure out what's going on but nothing's working"

"And you tell me this now!"  
Syaoran yelled out in alarm as he stood up from his seat.

"We didn't think it was a big deal, a small glitch! That's what we thought at first. But now it's all out of control! It's affecting the efficiency of the--"

"Tell them to shut the company down!"

"But Mr. Li if we do that we're going to lose millions of dollars!"

"yeah well then what do you suggest?"  
"I-I-I don--"

"Exactly. Shut it down temporarily. We'll lose even more money if we keep it running under these circumstances"

"Alright, we'll do that. Just one more question sir, do you have an idea on how we can solve this problem? Will Li Corporation be back up by next week?"

Syaoran let out a sigh as he sat back down on his seat.

"I know someone who might be able to help us. He's an old college friend of mine. If there's anyone that can do this job, it's him."

"When is he--"

"I'll try to convince him to come as soon as possible. This is a bad time; his wedding is coming up soon. I just hope he can make it here before the end of the week. Ken, go back to work and tell everyone what I said. I'll get back to you when I have some news"

Once his employer went back to work, Syaoran picked up his phone and called his secretary.

"Hi Alice, it's Syaoran. I have Kenshin Atiyaka from Tomoeda, Japan inside the reference folder. Find it and bring it to my office as soon as possible. Thank you"  
Syaoran hung up the phone and rubbed his amber-eyes tiredly. He leaned back against his chair and thought back to his friend. He couldn't believe that Kenshin was about to get married. Married! He never thought his friend would. After all, the thought of settling down was something that had scared him in the past. It seems as though he had changed since going back to Japan. Syaoran had received the invitation to the wedding two weeks ago and had already planned on going. He just wished that this sudden glitch wouldn't interfere with Kenshin's plan.

* * *

She could here a ring in the distance, yet she didn't pay attention to it. Tiredness had consumed her body and she had no desire to pick up the phone. The ringing seemed to become louder every second. What had started out faint was now annoying and unavoidable.

"Kenshin, pick up the phone"  
Sakura murmured as she rolled to her other side. There was no response and the stupid endless ringing continued. Lifting up her head she looked around and realized she was all alone in the living room couch and the phone happened to be at arms length.

"Kenshin?"  
She called out. Yet again, she got no response. Hesitantly she picked up the phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"uh...hi is Kenshin there?"  
A smooth, deep voice came from the other end. It was clear he was caught by surprise to hear Sakura on the other end.

"Who is this?"  
"Syaoran, Syaoran Li. I'm an old friend of his, is he home?"

"Oh hi Syaoran! It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Sakura Kinomoto, Kenshin's fiancée.

"Oh, nice to meet you too. I was afraid I had the wrong number at the beginning."

"Hey honey, you finally woke up! I went downstairs to pick up my mail"

Kenshin said as he walked into his apartment.

"Oh he just came in right now! Well, I'll see you at the wedding Syaoran, bye!"

Sakura said into the phone as she walked towards Kenshin. He looked at her in surprise when she said the name 'Syaoran'. He took the phone from her and put it to his ear.

In order to give him some privacy, Sakura left the room and went into the kitchen to prepare herself a small snack. She was extremely hungry since she had skipped lunch that afternoon. After a few minutes, she came back into the living room with a sandwich in her hand. Kenshin was sitting on the couch with the phone in front of him, in his hand. He was staring into space as if he was in deep though.

"Is something wrong honey?"  
Sakura asked as she sat next to him on the couch. Kenshin looked at her with a grim expression on his face. Sakura put down her sandwich, noting the serious look on his face.

"What happened?"  
He scratched his head and let out a deep breath,

"I don't know how to say this to you but...I...I—Syaoran has a serious problem in Hong Kong"

"Oh? He won't be able to make the wedding?"  
"No...It's not that."  
"Then what is it?"  
"He umm...his company is having some computer trouble and is temporarily shut down. No one knows what do and the longer the company is shut down, the more money he loses and--"

Sakura's eyes widened as realization finally hit her. She shook her in disbelief,

"Kenshin don't tell me that--"

He looked at Sakura apologetically and nodded,

"I'm sorry honey, I had no choice. He needs my help really badly and I would feel horrible if I said no."  
"But Kenshin the wedding is just a week away, this isn't the time for traveling! Plus you promised me you wouldn't travel, you know how anxious I get!"

"I'm sorry honey, but this is an emergency. You know I would not do it if it wasn't important!"

"But Kenshin, don't they have programmers over there? Can't they help him?"  
"Yes but that will take them a long time. If I go, I'll know what to do and I can get it all done in one day. One day honey, that's all it is. I'll come back the next day. I promise"

Sakura looked calmer once hearing this,

"You promise me that you'll come back to me?"

Kenshin smiled and kissed her hand,

"I swear to you on my life. I'll come back to you the first chance I get."

Sakura smiled and hugged him,

"I'm sorry, I overreacted a little."

"Syaoran is getting my tickets for the first flight out of here tomorrow morning and the last flight of the day back to Tokyo"

"So that means you'll be back the day after tomorrow?"  
"Yes, bright and early."

Sakura looked into his blue eyes and gently pushed a strand of his hair back,

"I love you so much"  
Kenshin smiled and drew her in closer,

"Yes, but I love you even more"

* * *

"So that was it?"  
Syaoran asked in amazement as he shook his head in disbelief. Kenshin laughed and nodded,

"Yup, that was all it was. I spent the whole day raking my brain trying to figure out what was wrong. I even almost gave up! Then at the last minute I decided to try it as a last resort and guess what? It worked!"

Syaoran got up and shook hands with Kenshin.

"Man, you are a genius. Thanks for taking some time to come here"  
"No problem Syaoran. I hope to see you at the wedding next week"

"You can count on it. Here's your stuff, thanks again"  
Syaoran handed Kenshin his jacket that he had left in the office. His wallet fell to the floor and opened up to a picture of Sakura.

"Sorry"  
Syaoran said apologetically as he bent down and picked it up. He noticed the picture and looked at it for a few seconds.

"That's your fiancee?"  
He asked as he slowly got up. Kenshin looked at the picture and smiled,

"Yes, that's my Sakura."

Syaoran studied the bright smile on the girl's face and her eyes; her eyes really caught his attention. They were a deep green, the color of emeralds. Her hair was ruffled lightly by the wind. She looked almost angelic.

"That means cherry blossom right?"  
Syaoran smiled as he closed the wallet and handed it to Kenshin,

"It's suits her. By the looks of it, you're one lucky guy"

"Yeah, she's great. I've never loved anyone the way I love her"  
"That's great Kenshin. By the way, you should get going if you want to make it to the airport on time. My limo is waiting for you outside."  
Kenshin stuck his wallet inside his pocket and put his coat on.

"Well, I guess I'll see you next week then."

"Sure will. Thanks again for coming by"  
"No problem, anything for a friend!"

* * *

"Oh no, I'm going to be late!"  
Sakura was rummaging through her closet, looking for her sneakers. It was times like these she wished she were a bit more organized. Kenshin always made fun of her, calling her closet a pigsty. She glanced at the time and let out a groan,

"I have 30 minutes to get there!!"

Once she finally retrieved her other sneaker, she made a dash for her keys and purse. She swung her apartment door open and was ready to run out when she realized Tomoyo was in front of it. She smiled at her best friend,

"Hi Tomoyo! What are you doing here so early? Hey, you know what, I'm in a rush right now. Come with me to pick up Kenshin and we can talk on the way to the--"

"Sakura...you don't know what happened?"

Tomoyo's voice was barely audible and Sakura finally noticed her eyes looked teary.

"I-I-Is something wrong Tomoyo? Why are you crying? Did something happen between you and Eriol?"  
Tomoyo wiped away a tear,

"Can we go back in? I want you to sit down for this"  
Sakura nodded and opened the door inviting Tomoyo in.

"Tomoyo what happened, you're starting to scare me."

Tomoyo took hold of Sakura's hand and led her to the sofa. She took in a deep breath, her amethyst-colored eyes reflecting sorrow and sympathy.

"Sakura, I was listening to the radio while I was on my way to work and....and..."

Her eyes filled with fresh tears and Sakura couldn't understand a word she said.

"I'm sorry Tomoyo but I don't understand"  
Tomoyo sniffled a bit and took another deep breath,

"Kenshin...h-h-he's dead Sakura"

Upon hearing those four words, her world came crashing down on her. She felt, lost, and as if she was in a dream, a horrible nightmare.

"no....NO!!! Tomoyo how can you even joke like that!!!!!"

"Sakura's it's not a joke! His plane had engine trouble yesterday night and fell into the ocean, not a single passenger survived!"

"B-B-But what if it's not his plane!! There are many planes that leave Hong Kong, what makes you think it's his plane!"

Tomoyo hugged Sakura tightly,

"I-I-I know it was his plane, they called out the names of the passengers. He was on the list."

Sakura wrenched herself away from Tomoyo's arms,

"Liar!!! Liar that's not his plane!"

Sakura grabbed the remote control and turned the television on. She flipped to the news channel where her worst fear was proved.

"This is Kari from news 12 confirming that airplane 3204 coming from Hong Kong to Tokyo, Japan fell into the ocean due to engine trouble last night at 4:30am. I am sorry to announce that the national coast guard has issued a statement saying that no one survived this terrible accident. Bodies have been surfacing all morning but they are afraid that they might not find every single one. The tide may have pushed some too far out into the sea. Our prayers go to the families of the victims."

Sakura felt numb, this couldn't be happening to her, to Kenshin. She had blocked the voice of the reporter, intently watching what as going on in the background. The noise of helicopters as they circled the waters was deafening; boats were floating everywhere, picking up pieces of scrunched up metal. Body bags were off to a corner, barely noticeable to the eye. Tomoyo took hold of the remote and shut the television off. Sakura stared at the blank screen, still in shock.

"Tomoyo, I-I-I lost my...Kenshin"

She whispered in a barely audible voice. Tears began to run down her face and her body began to shake with sobs. Tomoyo immediately wrapped her in a hug as her crying became harder...

-To Be Continued...

Starrie: Well, that's the end to the first chapter of Loving Once Again! I hope you all liked it! And I'm sorry, but some of you know how in past fics, i've done the leave-your-email-and-i'll-email-you-back-when-i've-updated thing? Well, for this fic I've decided to not do that. I'm so sorry, please don't kill me!!! I have a good reason actually, and it's a darn good one too! well, this site has set up this new system for retrieving emails that has made it a complete hassle now. If i continue to send emails out, it would take forever to update! (the number one reason i don't update early is because i'm too lazy to go around collecting all the reviewers emails) and if collecting emails from reviewers is out of the way, this means i can update chapters even faster than before! who knows, i may actually update MUCH SOONER! lol, but yeah, so I hope you can all understand that!


	2. Chapter 2

Starrie: whoaaaa….after what seems like forever…I'm BACK!!! -cringe- I'm sorry for not updating in MONTHS! anywho, enough of my ramblings, here is Chappie 2, hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 2

"Sakura, I'm so sorry"  
Chiharu hugged her friend who could not stop crying. Sakura's sobs became louder as she hugged her back tightly. The people that were at the funeral watched the sobbing girl with sorrowful eyes.

"Why did it have to be him Chiharu, why is life so cruel?! Kenshin didn't deserve to die that way!"

Chiharu separated from the hug and wiped away Sakura's streaming tears with a tissue.

"You're right, he didn't. Sometimes, things happen in life that you just can't understand. Do keep in mind that Kenshin loved you with all his heart and he wouldn't have wanted to see you like this"

"Why him, why did he have to die?! I should've gone with him. That's right; I should have been with him! Then I would be --"

"Sakura don't say that"

Chiharu whispered as she hugged her tightly once more. Sakura ripped away from her hug,

"But it's true! I don't want to live without him, I _can't_ live without him!!"

"Sakura, Kenshin will always be with you in your heart."  
Fujitaka said comfortingly as he came up from behind and placed his arms around his daughter's arms and gave her a gentle squeeze. He looked at Chiharu apologetically and gently led Sakura away. Chirharu watched with sad eyes as her friend slowly walked away. Sakura looked so frail, so distraught. Chiharu had never seen Sakura like this. Tomoyo came up next to her and gave her a sad smile. The two friends hugged each other and exchanged small quiet greetings. They walked to a small corner where they would not be bothered

"We're all worried about Sakura, this is taking a big toll on her emotionally and physically"

"Yes, I can see that. Oh god Tomoyo why did this have to happen to her? She doesn't deserve this! Kenshin was such a good person, Sakura's right, he didn't deserve to die that way.."  
Tomoyo nodded,

"I agree. Fate can sometimes be very cruel."  
Tomoyo turned to look at Sakura who was being comforted by her father and brother.

"When Kenshin died, a part of her died along with him. She'll never be the same again"

Chiharu looked at the beautiful glazed-mahogany coffin that was in front of the room. Flowers were placed around it and above the coffin stood an enlarged picture of Kenshin. Her eyes began to water as she thought back to the day that she first met him.

"I can't imagine that Kenshin's in there. I still can't get used to the idea that he's gon--"

Chiharu turned to look at Tomoyo who's sobbing had increased and her body had begun to shake.

"Tomoyo, what's wrong?"  
Chiharu hugged her as Tomoyo continued to cry into her shoulder. After taking a few deep breaths, she moved away and wiped away her tears,

"I have to be strong for Sakura"  
She said as she got her tissue out and dabbed her eyes with it. Chiharu looked at Tomoyo curiously,

"Something's going on that you're not telling me, what is it? Tomoyo I've known you for too long, you're hiding something."  
Tomoyo shook her head,

"Please, not now Chiharu. I-I-I feel horrible."  
Chiharu bit her lip in nervousness.

"It has to do with Kenshin doesn't it?"

Tomoyo looked at her and froze. A few tears slipped out of her eyes as she slowly nodded. Chriharu led out a deep sigh,

"I think I know what it is. Was Kenshin in the group that--"

Tomoyo's tears again began to fall as she nodded.

"We didn't have the heart to tell Sakura. she wouldn't be able to move on if she knew that--"

Her words were muffled as she buried her face into Chiharu's shoulder. Chiharu let out a troubled sigh as she tried her best to comfort Tomoyo.

"So everyone knows but her?"  
Tomoyo sniffled as she moved away,

"Yes, we all do."

Chiharu nodded. She turned back to look at the coffin and bit her lip to hold back a sob,

"May he rest in peace, wherever he is."

She smiled sadly,

"Kenshin is now in a beautiful place along with his parents"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syaoran turned his car off and let out a deep sigh. He fixed his tie and took out his dark sunglasses from the glove compartment. Opening his door, he stepped out into the gray, foggy weather. He looked at the funeral home in front of him and slowly made his way up the steps. A few people gave him questioning glances as he walked past them and into the home. As he walked deeper in, the more people he saw. He finally came into a room where there were chairs and a couple of people sitting down. He gave a sigh of relief that he wasn't late. He wanted to have a chance to pay his respects. It was the least he could do for Kenshin. Since his death, Syaoran could not stop blaming himself. If he hadn't bought _that_ particular ticket, if only he had sent his friend away in a different plane. Instead he sent him off to his death. Syaoran entered the room silently and walked up to the front. He stared at the picture of Kenshin and blinked back tears that were threatening to spill out. He ran his fingers along the smooth surface of the coffin,

"I'm sorry buddy, it is my fault. I swear, if I could turn back time I wouldn't have--"

He stopped in mid-sentence and closed his eyes to keep his composure. He opened them once more and let out a deep exhale,

"Kenshin, you were always one of my best friends, one of the few actually. I'm so sorry for what I have done to you, I'm really, really sorry"

He smiled at the picture of his friend,

"I'll never forget you, Kenshin"

He turned around to walk away from the coffin when he caught sight of a small figure sitting down on one of the chairs. She was crying hysterically and was surrounded by at least five people. Syaoran felt himself grow nervous the minute he recognized her. She was the girl from the picture Kenshin had shown him back in Hong Kong. Her hair was tied back in a bun and he could barely make out her face. He slowly approached her,

"E-E-Excuse me, Ms. Sakura Kinomoto?"

Sakura held back a sob as she turned to look at the person who had called out her name. The people surrounding her looked at the stranger questioningly but did not say a word. They moved away to give the two some privacy. Sakura stared at the dark-haired stranger in front of her. She did not recognize him, especially since he was wearing sunglasses. Syaoran took off his sunglasses and put them inside his coat pocket. He admired her green-emerald eyes for a few seconds. They were beautiful, despite the fact that they were red. He bowed politely,

"My name is Syaoran Li, I'm a friend of Kenshin. I'm sorry about what happened and I would like to say that--"

"S-S-Syaoran?"

Her eyes suddenly filled with rage and her body began to shake furiously,

"How dare you even show up here! Get _away_!"

Syaoran was taken by surprise and froze. Everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"You _murderer_!! Because of you Kenshin's dead! Get out of here, you shouldn't even _be _here!!"

"Ms. Kinomoto I-I-I'm sor--"

"Sorry's not good enough for you, you son of a--"

"Sakura, calm down"

Eriol came up next to her and took her hand,

"NO!!"  
Sakura yelled as she wrenched her hand free from his grip. She turned back to glare at Syaoran.

"Didn't you hear me? I said get out of here!!!"

"Sakura please, pointing fingers is not going to solve anything"

Rika said as she stood between Sakura and Syaoran. Touya came up to his sister and wrapped her into a hug,

"Rika's right Sakura. Making a scene in Kenshin's funeral is not right. This is a place to honor him, not to make accusations"

Sakura began to cry once more as Tomoyo came up from her other side and gently rubbed her back,

"Get him out of here, I don't want to see him"  
Sakura whispered in between sobs. Tomoyo nodded and walked to where Syaoran stood, still stunned from what had happened.

"I'm sorry about Sakura. She's just hurt by what has happened, she's really not like this."

Syaoran gave her a small smile and nodded,

"I understand."  
He took a deep breath,

"She does have a point though. It is my fault. Her fiancee died because of me. She has every reason to hate me"

Tomoyo shook her head,

"It was nobody's fault. Sometimes, things just happen. Give it some time, Sakura won't hate you forever."

Syaoran shook his head,

"I'm afraid time is something I don't have. I have to go back to Hong Kong later today." He smiled at Tomoyo,

"Well, I think it's best I leave. Please tell Ms. Kinomoto I am deeply sorry for what happened"

Tomoyo nodded,

"I will. I'm sorry but I didn't get a chance to ask, what's your name?"  
"Syaoran Li, it was nice meeting you miss..."

"Tomoyo Daidouji"

"Ms. Daidouji"

With that Syaoran turned around and headed for the exit. Tomoyo watched him disappear and then turned her attention back to Sakura. She was seated once again but was staring into space aimlessly. Tomoyo turned to the doorway and saw two men with dark suits enter the room. They locked eyes with her and nodded. Tomoyo let out a sigh and nodded back. Tomoyo walked up to Sakura and took a seat next to her. She took hold of her hand,

"They're here to take the coffin to the cemetery, Sakura"

Upon hearing these words Sakura jumped out of her seat. She looked at the two men who were rearranging the flowers to clear the path of the coffin. She shook her head in denial,

"No...no....no t-t-they can't take it! They can't take Kenshin!"

She ran up to it and threw her arms around the coffin as she began to cry and call out his name at the same time. Fujitaka along with Touya ran up to her and tried to peel her away from it.

"Sakura, it's time to let go"

Fujitaka whispered as he took hold of his daughter's hand. Sakura complied and cried as she watched the coffin being wheeled away. She tried to run after it but wasn't able to when Touya grabbed her and suddenly forced her into a tight hug. Sakura broke down in his arms, calling out the name of the man she loved...

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Where was he? He had no idea how he had gotten to this place. The room was dark, and yet he could see himself. It was as if his body was illuminated. Footsteps were calmly approaching him and he began to panic. Pit...pat...pit...pat...pit...pat...then they stopped. _

_"who's there?""_

_He called out in alarm. No one answered. Again, the footsteps resumed and like last time, they suddenly stopped._

_"Syaoran"_

_He quickly turned around, yet he was still alone. _

_"Who are you? How do you know my name!?"  
An eerie silence followed his question. _

_"you can't leave her, she needs you"_

_"Her? Can't leave whom? Who needs me?"  
"She needs your help, don't abandon her. She's feels alone"_

_"Who are you talking about!"_

"She is sad...sad...so sad... 

Syaoran sat up gasping for air, his heart was beating fast and adrenaline was rushing through his body. He gripped his sheets tightly only to find them wet with his sweat. He fumbled for the pitcher on his nightstand, grabbed a cup and poured some ice cold water into it. Slowly getting up from his bed, he brought the cool liquid up to his lips and drank it up in one gulp. He glanced at the hotel's nightstand clock, its bright red letters were blinking 6:00am. The sun was barely peeking past the horizon and the first rays were hitting the foot of his bed. He put his robe on and slowly walked towards the balcony of his room. He opened the door and let the cool morning brisk engulf him.

'Whose voice was that?'

He thought to himself as he looked out the balcony. He watched as a paperboy bicycled down the street and as hotel employees walked in through the front door.

"who's _she_? The voice said the person needed me, that's she sad, feels lonely...I don't know--"

Syaoran's inhaled deeply as he thought of one person that fit that description perfectly,

_Sakura._

'How am I supposed to help her though? I'm going back to Hong Kong today and I'll probably never come back here."

He thought back to Kenshin and how now, because of Syaoran, he was dead. That's when Syaoran realized whom the voice in his dream was. It was himself. His conscious was bothering him. Kenshin had been such a good friend to him and here was Syaoran, being selfish and leaving on the first plane back to Hong Kong. He owed it to his friend to stick around and watch over the person he loved. Kenshin's death had brought a lot of suffering to Sakura, and Syaoran was to blame for that too. It wouldn't be right if he just left her here, dealing with her own pain.

"But what can I do that her friends can't?!"  
Syaoran asked himself in frustration as he stormed back into his hotel room. At the same time, he didn't see the point in staying. It was obvious she hated him and blamed him for Kenshin's death. How was he supposed to help someone who didn't even _want_ his help? Syaoran frowned as he reached for the phone,

"What the _hell_ am I getting myself into?"  
He muttered as he began to make calls back to Hong Kong...

To Be Continued...

Starrie: okie so that all for now folks! I'll update soon cuz I already have the next chappie done and ready to go. Again, I'm sooo sorry for not updating in a loooong time! College life took me completely by surprise! o.O;;; that's the main reason why I stopped updating, sorry . review and tell me what you thought of this chappie! Or hehehe…to yell at me for disappearing. go on, I can take a lil ear pull hehehe! oh yeah, by the way, I'm no longer gonna email people when I update, this way I can concentrate on just writing and chapters will be up sooner. If you want to be notified when I update, just do it through the "email alerts" that's providedby this site, thanxies!! Till next time! .


	3. Chapter 3

Starrie: thanks to all those for review!! Here's the next chappie, hahaha didn't take long this time! –grins-

Chapter 3

"Sakura"  
Tomoyo called out softly as she entered Sakura's room. Since Kenshin's death, Sakura had moved back to father's house. Everyone felt she would be safer there, they didn't want her alone in her apartment. Sakura was sitting on the small couch near her windowsill, Her eyes were puffy from crying and a picture of Kenshin was close by. She slowly turned to look at Tomoyo but didn't utter a word. She hadn't said much since the funeral a week ago. She turned her head to her right and stared out into space aimlessly. Tomoyo let out a soft sigh as she walked up to Sakura and sat down next to her.

"Sakura please, at least look at me"

Sakura obliged and turned back to look at her. Her green eyes looked lifeless, something that Tomoyo had never seen. Tomoyo gave her a small smile and took her hands.

"Are you hungry? Want me to bring something up for you?"  
Sakura shook her head slowly.

"Would you like to talk about...something in particular?"  
Sakura didn't respond for a few seconds but in the end just conformed to shaking her head. She turned away and turned to look back outside. She drew her knees close to her chest and hugged them with her arms, lying her head ontop of them. The two girls were quiet for some time.

"Why does the sun shine Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo looked at her, somewhat confused.

"I-I-I don't understand"

"Why is it that the sun shines even when it shouldn't?"

She let out a bitter laugh,

"It's as if it's celebrating something. _What_ is there to celebrate? The fact that I'm not getting married?"

Tomoyo rubbed small circles in Sakura's hands.

"The sun is here to remind you that even after the worst of storms, it will always be there. A new day brings a new beginning."

"I don't _want_ a new beginning!"

"Sakura, I know it may be impossible to see it right now, but life does go on. Time heals even the deepest of wounds."

"I'm never going to forget Kenshin, _never_!"

"I'm not saying you will, nor do any one of us expect you too."

Sakura began to cry as she hugged her knees tightly. She looked up at Tomoyo through tear-filled eyes,

"I don't know what to do without him Tomoyo. I feel so lost"

Tomoyo pulled Sakura into a hug and rocked the girl gently in her arms,

"You're not alone, we're all here for you..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I wonder why he suddenly decided to move here"  
Eriol wondered out loud as he wrapped his arms around Tomoyo's waist from behind. Tomoyo shrugged as she leaned back against him,

"I'm not sure, I didn't ask when he called me"

Eriol raised an eyebrow,

"And why out of all people, did he call you?"  
He asked in a jokingly jealous voice. Tomoyo let out a laugh,

"Because he doesn't know anybody that was close to Kenshin here in Japan. He knows my name because I told it to him at the funeral."

Eriol nodded as he leaned his back against his car. He looked up at the apartment in front of him and frowned,

"We should've thought of emptying out his apartment a month ago, it's gonna be hard to do it all in one day"

Tomoyo turned around to face Eriol and kissed him lightly on the lips,

"That's why, smart one, I called Syaoran to help us out. He told me to call him if he was ever needed. Plus he was one of Kenshin's closest friends, he can help us sort his stuff out."  
Eriol had somewhat of a hesitant look on his face,

"I think you should have said something to Sakura. Maybe she would have wanted to be here"

Tomoyo shook her head quickly,

"No, that would only end up hurting her. Honey, she's distressed as it is. If she comes back here, it won't help the healing process."

Eriol nodded,

"You're right I guess."

"Ms. Daidouji?"  
Tomoyo turned around as Syaoran cautiously walked up to the couple. She smiled at him warmly,

"How many times have I told you Syaoran, just call me Tomoyo"

Syaoran gave her a nervous smile,

"Sorry, Tomoyo"

"Oh! This is my boyfriend Eriol. Eriol, this is Kenshin's friend from Hong Kong, Syaoran Li"

Eriol smiled back politely,

"Hi, nice to meet you. So, ready to get to work?"

Syaoran let out a sigh,

"Well, let's get to it."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(SN: Sorry to be speeding up like this, but I really need the time gap)

One year and a few month later...

Sakura pulled a box from underneath her bed and laid it ontop of her bed. She dusted off some dust that had been collected on the top and slowly slid the lid off. She smiled at the sight of the objects inside it and pulled out a blue shirt that was neatly folded to the side. She held it close to her face and inhaled deeply. Her eyes saddened as she came to the realization that the scent that had once engulfed the shirt was now gone. She folded it back up and put it in its place. She then pulled out a teddy bear she had once given Kenshin on Valentine's day and hugged it tightly. She smiled as she remembered how he joked around that when he missed her, he would hug his bear. She placed the bear next to her and reached in to pull out a picture frame that had once been on Kenshin's nightstand. It was a picture of them both on a sailboat; it was taken during the last vacation they took together.

"Sakura!"  
She jumped as soon as she heard her name and let out a gasp. Tomoyo entered her room with a bright smile on her face. She saw Sakura was looking through the items in the box Tomoyo had brought her from Kenshin's apartment over a year ago. She smiled at her friend apologetically,

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?"  
Sakura shook her head and began to put the stuff she had taken out back in its place.

"A little bit, but it's okay. I was just looking through some stuff."  
She got off her bed and slipped the box back in underneath her bed and grabbed a scrunchie before she took a seat once again.

"Hey, you okay? You seem a bit sad"

Tomoyo pointed out as she took a seat on a nearby chair. Sakura gave her a small smile as she tied her now waist-length auburn hair into a ponytail.

"I'm sorry, I get like that whenever I go through the stuff in the box. I'm okay though, really. It's just that the memories are sometimes bittersweet"

Tomoyo nodded sympathetically,

"I understand."  
Sakura looked around her room and frowned,

"I just wish I could get out of here already. I love my dad and all, but I miss my old apartment, I want to go back to living on my own"

Tomoyo looked somewhat nervous,

"I-I-I know but--"

Sakura nodded,

"I know, I know, dad and Touya aren't going to allow it yet. I'll do fine though, I know I will"

Tomoyo let out a sigh,

"Sakura, it's not just that but, being alone in that apartment is going to be a bit difficult, you have to admit that. There's so many memories of Kenshin there, are you sure you're ready to face that?"  
Sakura looked out her window into the bright sunny day,

"To be honest, I don't know"  
She answered softly. Tomoyo took hold of her hand and smiled at her,

"Give it some time okay? In a few months, when you feel a bit more sure, you can move back in"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo and smiled,

"You're right, I'll do that."

Tomoyo smiled back and got up from Sakura's bed,

"Well then, let's get going or we're never going to get any shopping done!"

Sakura groaned as she sluggishly got off her bed,

"Are you sure we have to do this?"  
Tomoyo gave Sakura an are-you-kidding-me? look.

"Of course! Sakura, you have nothing but dark clothes in your closet!"  
"But Tomoyo, I'm okay with that, really!"  
Tomoyo shook her head as she pushed Sakura out the door,

"Nu-uh, no way. You my dear, need more color in your life!"  
She frowned,

"Plus it's been such a long time since you and I went shopping! I'm dying here!"  
Sakura giggled as she closed the door behind her and followed Tomoyo down the stairs,

"Whatever makes you happy."

Tomoyo stopped for a few seconds and looked at Sakura with gleaming eyes,

"What's wrong?"  
Sakura asked in alert as she stopped halfway down the stairs. Tomoyo giggled as she hugged her best friend tightly,

"I missed hearing your laugh."  
Sakura gave Tomoyo a bright smile,

"Well, it's hard but I'm trying to move on. I know Kenshin would have wanted it that way"  
Tomoyo nodded,

"You're absolutely right! He wouldn't want you to be sad"

"Tomoyo, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"  
"Can we maybe ummm...stop by the cemetery before coming back?"

"Of course, Sakura"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syaoran placed the flowers he had brought with him on the smooth tombstone, next to some flowers that looked a few days old. He ran his fingers along the letters on the tombstone and smiled,

"Hey Kenshin, sorry I haven't come by in such a long time"

He said as he stood up. The soft spring air ruffled his hair slightly and a few cherryblossom petals fell ontop of the dark-grey stone. Syaoran inhaled deeply, taking in the fragrance of the spring air. He had a somewhat apologetic look on his face as he began to talk once again,

"I-I-I've talked to Tomoyo a couple of times, always checking in on Sakura to see how she's been doing. I've tried to get close to her, honestly, I've tried. Yet every time, I freeze up. I don't know what to say to her, I don't know how she'll react to my presence. I occasionally take walks around her house but I can never gather up the courage to ring her doorbell. After what happened at the funeral, I'm sure she hates me."  
Syaoran let out a laugh,

"Honestly, I don't know why I'm still here. I've already given up right? Then why haven't I just packed up my things and left already? I've asked for Tomoyo's advice, she just says Sakura's not ready. That her reaction towards me will still be the same."  
Syaoran frowned,

"Sorry I failed you, sorry I couldn't keep the promise I made to you. Maybe, I just wasn't meant to be that person who protects her. Maybe that job belongs to someone else."  
Syaoran cleared his throat,

"Good-bye Kenshin"  
He said as he turned back around to leave, keeping his gaze downwards. He lifted his eyes off the ground as he got ready to walk away when he noticed a woman staring at him a few feet away. Although he was surprised to see her, he could tell the feeling wasn't mutual. She looked furious and filled with rage.

"What are you doing here?"  
Sakura demanded coldly. Syaoran didn't know what to say; he glanced behind her and noticed she was alone.

"Same reason you are."  
Syaoran answered back, making sure his voice was loud and steady. He didn't want this tiny girl to know that she made his body shake with fear. Her gaze was powerful and accusing.

"How dare you even come here, don't you have any respect?! If it wasn't for you, Kenshin would--"

"Sakura!"  
Tomoyo interrupted loudly as she came running up from behind Sakura, she had dropped her keys a few paces back and Sakura had gone on ahead. Sakura stopped in mid-sentence and turned to look at her. Tomoyo glanced at Syaoran and then to Sakura. She took in a deep breath,

"What is wrong with you? You're not the type to point fingers! Why are you suddenly putting this all on Syaoran? Don't you think he feels bad enough as it is?!"

Sakura grew quiet, she hadn't really thought of that. Syaoran took this time to quietly slip away. He didn't want to cause any trouble; he just wanted to visit his friend.

"Wake up Sakura, it wasn't anybody's fault, so stop blaming Syaoran for something that was unavoidable! I'm sick and tired of this! When you're not busy blaming him, you're blaming yourself! If there was anybody to blame, it was the plane! It's not like Kenshin was killed on purpose, it was an accident!"

Tomoyo's eyes began to water almost as soon as she finished talking. She felt bad for screaming at Sakura but she couldn't hold back what she had been feeling for a long time now.

"I-I-I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to--"

"Yes you did Tomoyo, you meant every word"  
Sakura said softly as she brought her gaze up to meet Tomoyo. She wiped away the tear that had flowed down her cheek,

"And, to be honest, you're absolutely right."

Sakura walked up to Kenshin's tombstone and placed the flowers she brought next to the ones already there. She pushed a few cherryblossoms aside to reveal Kenshin's name. She smiled down at it,

"I miss you so much, every day I think of you and what we would be doing at that precise moment if you were still here with me."

As she stared down at the tombstone, she started to get flashbacks of what Kenshin had once said to her about Syaoran,

_"He's always been there for me, never once has he let me down. I'm glad you'll finally get to meet him! It'll mean a lot to me if you two get along"_

Sakura bit her lip as her eyes began to water,

"I'm sorry Kenshin, I've been so selfish. All this time I've been looking for someone to blame that, I completely forgot how much Syaoran meant to you."  
She wiped her tears away,

"I promise you I'll settle things with him, I know that's what you would have wanted me to do."

Sakura stood up and smiled at Tomoyo,

"Thank you Tomoyo, thank you for knocking some sense into me."

Tomoyo smiled,

"I'm glad my little outburst helped!"

Sakura looked around and noticed Syaoran was out of sight,

Tomoyo pointed towards the left,

"I think he went that way"  
She said with a grin. Sakura looked at her,

"It's creepy how you read my mind like that. Well, Tomoyo I'm really sorry but--"

Tomoyo waved her hand nonchalantly,

"Go Sakura!"  
Sakura smiled at her gratefully and ran in the direction Tomoyo had told her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syaoran walked into the parking lot and was ready to get into his car when he heard his name being called out. He turned around and was surprised to find Sakura running in his direction. He frowned, already knowing what was coming his way.

"Syaoran!"  
Sakura stopped in front of him, taking in big gulps of fresh air. She had ran the whole way there.

"Good you haven't left yet, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to--"

"To what? Keep rubbing it in that Kenshin's dead because of me?"  
Syaoran snapped as he glared at her. He had enough of her accusations; he couldn't take it anymore. He felt guilty as it was; he didn't need someone to remind him constantly. Sakura winced internally at his accusation,

"No, Syaoran you're wrong."

Syaoran scoffed as he opened his car door,

"Right, whatever. Listen, I tried to apologize, _tried_! You have no idea how it feels to have to carry on with this guilt. For the rest of my life, I have to live with the fact that I killed one of my best friends!"

"Syaoran"

He became quiet as soon as he heard his name escape her lips. He looked at her in the eye and noticed something that wasn't there before. There was no longer hatred in her eyes, just empathy. He gulped, feeling a bit nervous and stupid after what he just said. Sakura looked into his deep chocolate-colored eyes and smiled. Something about them reminded her of Kenshin. She didn't know what it was, but whatever she had once seen in Kenshin's eyes were also present in Syaoran's. She smiled at him,

"It's not your fault Syaoran, please stop blaming yourself. Tomoyo was right, it was nobody's fault. I'm sorry for blaming you for something you had no control over and I'm sorry for the way I treated you at Kenshin's funeral. You had as much right to be there as anyone else in that room, including myself. I have no reason to hold a grudge against you, and..."  
Her eyes fell down in shame,

"And I wouldn't blame you if you hate me. I treated you in the meanest way possible, I'm very sorry."

Syaoran stared at her blankly; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Sakura Kinomoto actually apologizing? He realized this was his chance to fulfill his promise to Kenshin. His promise that he would take care of the one person he had loved. Syaoran locked eyes with Sakura and gave her a friendly smile.

"How about we start over again?"

Sakura gave him a grateful smile and nodded in agreement.

"I would love that."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura fidgeted nervously with her purse as she stood in the middle of a park. Syaoran had invited her out to lunch and she had accepted. Although her first reaction was to say no, she kept on telling herself that if they were to be friends, she had to do her part.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to do something last minute."  
Syaoran said as he walked up to her from behind. Sakura turned around and smiled,

"It's okay. I just got here anyway."

They began to walk together, neither of them knowing what to say to one another. Syaoran glanced at her from the corner of his eyes,

"Ummm...where would you like to go?"

Sakura shrugged,

"To be honest, I'm really not that hungry."  
Syaoran let out a sigh of relief.

"Me too!"

Sakura began to laugh at his reaction.

"Then how about we skip lunch, instead get some ice cream and just stay here? It's nice out today."  
Syaoran nodded,

"That's a good idea."

Syaoran went up to an ice cream stand and got two cones of ice cream and then walked to a grassy spot underneath a tree where Sakura was sitting. She thankfully accepted her cone and a silence fell between them once again. Sakura glanced over at Syaoran and noticed he had ordered chocolate ice cream for himself. She smiled,

"Kenshin loved anything that had chocolate."

Syaoran stopped eating and turned to look at her. He laughed and nodded,

"Yes, I remember that. When we were roommates we would try to hide the chocolate ice cream from each other."

Sakura laughed,

"You have that same obsession?"  
Syaoran nodded,

"Chocolate is number one in my things-I-love-most list!."  
Sakura kept on laughing,

"He'd say the same thing! I would ask him, and where do I stand? And he would just smile and say I shared the number one spot with chocolate."

Syaoran chuckled,

"Kenshin could never be serious, he loved to joke around. He was my opposite and yet it felt as if he was my twin. He understood me like no one had ever done before and he was always there."

Syaoran saddened a bit as he kept his gaze locked in front of him,

"Every day I think, what if? What if he hadn't gotten on that plane? What if I hadn't called him at all? What if I had gotten him tickets for a later flight?"

Sakura could sense the sadness Syaoran felt and was ashamed of herself. All this time she thought she was the only one with that guilty feeling, and yet she was shutting away the only person who she could relate to.

"Yes, but what ifs aren't going to bring him back."  
Sakura moved her cone to her other hand,

"He's gone, neither of us can change that. I too have spent months thinking about what ifs. What if I had been more firm and told him not to go? What if I hadn't asked him to come back so soon?"

Syaoran let out a sigh, he turned his body around to face Sakura.

"I'm really sorry"

Sakura gave him a puzzling look,

"What for?"  
"For everything. Let's be honest, if there's anyone to blame here, it's me. I'm sorry that I ruined your wedding, I'm sorry for killing your fiancee, I'm sorry for ruining your future."

Sakura shook her head and placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder.

"I have nothing to forgive you for and you have nothing to be sorry about. Like I said before, accidents happen. Instead, I want to thank you for allowing me to come into your life. You could have easily ignored my stupid comments and moved on with your life. I'm grateful that you're here."

She smiled,

"It's nice to know that I'm not alone, that I can relate to someone."

Syaoran looked at her and returned the smile,

"You have nothing to thank me for. It's the least I could do."

Sakura looked into Syaoran's eyes and found the warmth and understanding she had desperately been seeking for. Without thinking it twice, she enveloped him into a hug, much to Syaoran's surprise.  
"Kenshin was right, you're a great friend."

Syaoran was taken aback by her words but a small smile made its way to his lips as he returned the hug,

"Thank you, that means a lot to me."

--To Be Continued—

Starrie: well that's all for now folks! But yaaaaay!!! SS are finally getting along!!! Anywho, please tell me what you think! Bye for now! –waves-


	4. Chapter 4

Starrie: Hey everyone! Well, it's my first week back in school and I'm having a _great _time!! Ehhh…yeah classes suck but that's nothing new, I'm just glad to see my roommates and my other friends again! Hahaha I went to a karaoke bar last night and AACK!!! Me singing is like a cat yowling! –shudders- yeah it's that horrible! Anywho, here's the next chapter, please read and review, thanx! Chapter 4 

Sakura smiled when she saw the peonies laying ontop of Kenshin's grave. She bent down and placed her cherryblossoms next to them.

"Hi honey"  
She whispered as she looked down at Kenshin's grave. She inhaled deeply and let the warm spring air run through her hair.

"I know you'll be glad to hear that Syaoran and I have become friends. It's funny how just a week ago I hated him, but thanks to you, I realized that he's not bad at all. He's been a great friend."  
She laughed,

"He reminds me so much of you. No wonder you two were such good friends. He tells me stories of what you two did when you were in college."

She sat down on the grass and placed her hand ontop of the cool gravestone.

"Kenshin, will I ever be able to move on?"

She asked in a small whisper as she traced his name with her fingers. A few tears ran down her cheeks,

"Because, it seems like I will. Everyone says that with time the pain will ease, but that's not happening. I keep thinking that you're just away on another trip and that someday, you'll return. How can I move on when I don't want to let go of you? The memories we have are so precious, I don't want to forget them...or forget you"

She stayed there for a few minutes and after a while got up and wiped her tears. She smiled down at the grave,

"Well, I have to go now. I'll stop by tomorrow. Bye, honey"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on Sakura, let's go to the Summer Festival!"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo and shook her head,

"Why must you insist? I just don't feel like it"

"But Sakura, it used to be one of your favorites! You haven't gone to it in two years."

Sakura put down the assignment she was grading. Recently, she had gone back to work as a teacher again. She gave Tomoyo a please-stop-insisting look

"Do it for Syaoran?"

Tomoyo asked, using her last excuse. Sakura gave her a bewildered look.  
"What does he have to do with this?"

"Well, he agreed to come with Eriol and me. It's his first time going to the festival. And well, what if Eriol and I decide that we want to take a romantic walk along the lake? That means we'll have to leave Syaoran alone and it would be better if four of us went rather than three so that way we can split up evenly!"  
Sakura let out a giggle,

"Is that your best?"  
Tomoyo smiled sheepishly,

"Last resort"

Sakura shook her head in amazement of her friend's persistent nature.

"Alright, okay I'll go. If you want me to go with you that badly, I'll go"

"Yay! That's wonderful because I just made you a new summer dress for the occasion!"

Sakura shook her head, she should've known that her friend was up to something!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm sorry about my brother"  
Sakura whispered to Syaoran as the Tomoyo, Eriol, Sakura and Syaoran left Sakura's house. Syaoran laughed,

"It's okay, overprotective older brother, I understand where he's coming from. Actually, I'm just like that with my cousin Meiling. She's just a few months younger than me, but still. To me she's like a little sister. I always give her guy friends, along with boyfriends, the I'm-going-to-come-after-you death glares."

Tomoyo giggled and turned to look at Syaoran,

"You seem to very good at them."

Eriol laughed and nodded in agreement with Tomoyo,

"Touya looked like he wanted to rip your head off, Syaoran."

Sakura continued to blush in embarrassment,

"He shouldn't have been so mean to you, I'm really sorry. I told him that we settled our differences but its like he doesn't believe me."

Syaoran smiled at her and with his finger, gently tugged on her cheek to make her smile,

"Hey, it's okay, honestly! I don't want you to be upset okay?"  
Sakura looked up at Syaoran and gave him a weary smile,

"Are you sure it's okay? It's not going to affect our friendship right?"

Syaoran shook his head,

"Ten million Touyas would not be able to keep me away from a friend like you. Plus..."

Syaoran winked,

"Who would I scare?"

Sakura's cheeks puffed up,

"Syaoran!"  
She poked him on the side of his ribs, knowing that it was his weak spot. Syaoran jumped but then his eyes grew wide,

"Sakura, there's a ghost behind you!"  
"_aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh__!!!!!!!! Make it go away!!!!"_

She gripped onto Syaoran's arms and shut her eyes tightly. She slowly opened when she felt Syaoran's chest shake with laughter.

"You--"

"Hey! Are you guys okay?"  
Tomoyo called out from a few feet up ahead.

"We're fine!"

They yelled out unanimously. Sakura turned to look at Syaoran,

"I'm mad at you!"  
With that said, she sprinted up to Tomoyo and Eriol and began to walk with them. Syaoran lagged a bit behind, still laughing a little. Sakura turned to look back at him and stuck her tongue out. She wasn't really mad at him though, they both knew it. It was a just a usual game they played.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This place looks so pretty!"  
Sakura gasped in amazement as she walked through the festival with her three friends. Syaoran nudged Eriol,

"Are you sure she's the age she claims to be? Have you checked her I.D.?"

Sakura turned to look at Syaoran and gave him her I'm-still-mad-at-you look. Eriol laughed at the game the pair was playing,

"Sakura's always loved the summer festival. She hasn't come here in a really long time, that's why she's so excited."

"Eriol! The jewelry!"  
Tomoyo exclaimed in excitement as she saw a stand where a lady was selling hand-crafted necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Eriol let out a deep sigh as Tomoyo began to drag him in that direction.

"The thing one does for love"  
He murmured softly as he was being taken away. Syaoran watched the two and let out a small chuckle.

"ooooh!!! Gold fishes!"  
Sakura said excitingly as she walked to a stand where people were trying to catch a fish with a small paper paddle.

"you want one?"  
Syaoran asked as he came up from behind her. Sakura nodded as she stared at the golden-orange fishes swimming in the water. Syaoran gave her a sly smile,

"Will you forgive me if I get you a fish?"  
Sakura looked pensive. A small smile tugged at the end of her lip,  
"maybe"

Syaoran shrugged as he paid the man for a paddle,

"In that case, bring on the fishes!"

Sakura giggled at Syaoran's determination. You have to be careful though; your paddle might break. Syaoran gave her an assuring grin,  
"Mine won't break, I'm good at--"

Sakura giggled,

"Oops, missed the fish, there it goes, swimming away...and your paddle's broken"

Syaoran stared in confusion through the hole of his broken paddle,

"What the—hey that wasn't fair I was distracted!"

"Syaoran, it's okay if you couldn't do it"  
Sakura said while giggling, she knew Syaoran hated it when he couldn't do something. He shook his head as he paid the man again,

"this one won't get away"

"are you sure about—oops, there it goes again"

"It's the paddle, I keep on getting bad ones!"

"Syaoran, really its o--"

Before she could even finish she saw that Syaoran had already paid for 15 paddles and was trying over and over again...

(20 minutes later)

"I got one!"  
Syaoran called out triumphantly as he held up his little bowl with a gold fish swimming around. Sakura looked up at him and laughed,

"By now, you should be an expert at this!"  
"It's harder than it looks you know? It takes skill and practice."

Syaoran thanked the man who handed him his goldfish in a plastic bag. Syaoran turned to Sakura and handed her the bag,

"Here, the fish is all yours. So am I forgiven?"  
Sakura smiled at Syaoran as she took the bag,

"Thank you for my fish. And yes, you are forgiven"  
She hugged him and Syaoran let out a sigh,

"Good, because after all the trouble I went for that one fish, I'd be upset if I wasn't!"  
Sakura laughed and lightly punched him in the arm,

"Hey, You're the one who insisted on catching it! I would've forgiven you with or without the fish!"

Syaoran let out a groan,

"Now you tell me?!"

Tomoyo and Eriol came walking up to them, laughing.

"We heard there was some crazy Chinese guy obsessing over a fish so we just had to come and check it out"  
Eriol said as he smiled at Sakura and Syaoran. Tomoyo looked at the fish Sakura was holding and looked at Syaoran,

"I had a feeling that crazy guy they were talking about was you"

Syaoran blushed and pulled the group away along with him,

"Let's get outta this area"  
He muttered as he glared at anyone who turned to look at him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I was in complete shock Sakura, I didn't know he was going to propose to me!"  
Tomoyo said in excitement as she finished telling Sakura about the night before when Eriol had proposed to her. Sakura smiled at her, happy for her best friend,

"This is great! We have to start planning for your wedding soon!"

Sakura tried not to show the sadness she was feeling. It wasn't because of Tomoyo, it was just that whenever she thought of weddings and the preparations for one, she was reminded of Kenshin. Tomoyo noticed almost immediately and looked somewhat hesitant,

"Sakura, I wanted to ask you if you'd be my maid of honor. Now I want you to think this over before you give me a response. If you don't feel comfortable doing just tell me and I'll--"

"Tomoyo are you kidding? I'll be happy to be your maid of honor!"

"Really? You'll do it?"  
"Of course!"

"Thank you Thank you Thank you!! That makes me so happy!"

Tomoyo took a sip of her tea and then took a deep breath, Sakura, I've been meaning to talk to you about something else.

"Yes?"  
"Well, It's been almost two years since Kenshin's death. Don't you think it's time that...that you umm...maybe umm...begin dating?"

Sakura stiffened at Tomoyo's comment. She put her tea down and looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"I can't Tomoyo, at least not yet. I can't look at a guy without thinking of Kenshin. No one can replace him in my heart."

"You haven't given yourself a chance to fall in love."  
"I don't _want_ to fall in love again."

"Sakura, you're not being fair to yourself. You can't go through life alone, you're going to want someone by your side."

"Tomoyo, please don't insist. I've made up my mind; if it's not Kenshin, I don't want to be with anybody else."

Tomoyo sighed as she played around with her engagement ring.

"Not even...hypothetically speaking, Syaoran?"

Sakura gave Tomoyo an are-you-out-of-your-mind?! look.

"What I feel for Syaoran is completely different than what I felt for Kenshin. Syaoran is a friend, nothing more."  
Tomoyo shrugged and leaned back in her chair,

"I was just throwing out a thought. He's wonderful Sakura, and he would make a great boyfriend."

"I don't doubt that, it's just that I can't possibly seeing myself falling in love with him."

"Why not?"  
Sakura looked somewhat uncomfortable,

"I don't know, I-I-I just can't."  
"Because he was one of Kenshin's best friends?"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo and frowned,

"That too I guess. I don't know, I feel like I would be betraying Kenshin."

Tomoyo moved forward in her seat and took hold of Sakura's hand,

"You can't tell your heart who to love, the choice is all theirs. If someday you find yourself falling in love with someone, don't feel like you're betraying Kenshin. Think of it as a gift he's sending you. He wouldn't want you to be alone, you know that as well as I do."

Sakura grinned and just nodded. Although she didn't really buy Tomoyo's speech because she knew she wasn't going to fall in love again, she pretended to agree just for the sake of it.

"Well, enough about this subject, lets begin discussing plans for your wedding!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura frowned as she felt her hair stick to the back of her neck. Yup, summer was here alright. The burning sun was shining brightly and she could hear the laughter of the kids as they enjoyed their vacation. She smiled at two little infants as she walked past them and stopped at tall apartment. The doorman opened the door for her and gave her a warm smile,

"Good afternoon Ms. Kinomoto."  
"Good afternoon Ken. I'm here to see Syaoran."

"Ah yes, He is in his apartment, go right ahead."

"Thank you."

She walked past him and sighed as she stepped into the cool lobby. She walked up to the elevator and pressed the upward button. Once it arrived she stepped in and greeted the person inside politely.

"Ms. Kinomoto! Visiting Mr. Li I suppose?"

The woman asked with a smile on her face. Sakura nodded, returning the smile.

"You two make such a beautiful couple. It's so wonderful to see that--"

"Syaoran and I aren't a couple, we're just good friends."  
Sakura interrupted. The woman looked somewhat surprised.

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you two were--"

She let out a laugh,

"You must excuse this old lady for making false assumptions like that."

Sakura let out a laugh too as they came to their floor.

"It's okay, it was an honest mistake."

"Well, I hope to see you soon again Ms. Kinomoto, take care now!"

"Bye Ms. Karu"

Sakura turned to her left and went down three doors. She knocked on the third one and greeted Syaoran with a hug when he opened it.

"Hot outside isn't it?"  
Syaoran asked as he parted from the hug. Sakura nodded as she stepped into the spacious apartment and put her bag on the couch.

"Scorching. Syaoran you owe me some ice cream."  
Syaoran chuckled and pointed to the coffee table,

"I thought you'd say that."  
Sakura's eyes lightened up as she saw the bowl of ice cream. She smiled contentedly at Syaoran.

"You're beginning to know me too well! Oh by the way, what did you want to show me, certainly you did invite me for just ice cream."

"Syaoran laughed as he opened up a small drawer and pulled out some pictures.

"No, I didn't invite you for just the ice cream. I thought maybe you'd like to see these pictures. They're from when Kenshin and I were in college."

Sakura's instantly put her bowl of ice cream down and took the pictures Syaoran handed her. Sakura's eyes gleamed with delight as she slowly went through the pictures. Kenshin looked so young, so full of life. She came across a picture where Syaoran and Kenshin were standing in an airport in front of a window that had a view of departing planes. A smile slowly spread through her face,

"This is before he left to Japan isn't it?"  
Syaoran looked at the picture and nodded,

"Yes. We didn't know when would be the next time we'd see each other so we took one last picture together at the airport. He was heading for his internship here while I began working for my families company."  
Sakura let out a small laugh,

"You know I met him at the airport the day he arrived in Japan? I was in such a hurry to pick up Tomoyo that I almost ran him over! Luckily I stopped and he was safe, but I felt so bad afterwards. I couldn't stop apologizing and all he kept on saying was,

"It's alright, don't worry, I'm okay."

Then when I told him I'd do anything to make it up to him, he just gave me this sly smile. And he asked me,

"Would you go out on a date with me?"

Syaoran burst out laughing,

"That seems like something he would do."

Sakura giggled as she recalled the memory,

"I was in complete shock. I mean, who in their right mind would ask someone who nearly ran them over out on a date!? Well, the next day we went out for dinner and...Well, I've loved him ever since."

Syaoran nodded in understanding and smiled,

"No wonder he didn't want to come back to China after his internship was over. I kept on trying to convince him but he always told me that there was something way too precious to leave behind here in Japan."  
Syaoran looked at Sakura,

"I should have known it was you."  
Sakura returned his smile as her eyes began to water,

"He promised me he'd never leave me. That he'd always be there for me. That I would never be alone and t-t-that we would form a family..."

Her voice became muffled as she buried her face in her hands as her body began to shake with sobs. Syaoran grabbed a nearby tissue box and took a seat next to Sakura. He placed an arm of her shoulder and held her as she poured her heart out. He could tell that the transition to a life without Kenshin was hard for her. It had been hard on him too but it was ten times worse for Sakura.

"I-I-I'm sorry"  
Sakura whispered as she sniffled and wiped a strand of hair off her face. Syaoran didn't answer but his gaze told Sakura that he understood her. He took hold of a tissue and gently wiped her tears away,

"You don't have to be. There's nothing to be sorry about"  
He whispered soothingly as he blotted the wet streams going down her face. Sakura stared into his deep brown eyes and found comfort in them. Syaoran was different from others; he wasn't pushing her to move on like other people were. He understood her, understood her pain. He let her go at her own pace, always there to catch her if she stumbled.

Syaoran couldn't stop staring at her beautiful green eyes. They sparkled like jewels despite the fact that Sakura had just cried. Although they reflected sadness, there was also something in them that he knew was meant for him. He had always known that Sakura was a beautiful young woman but he had never really _noticed _it until now. Her skin had a glowing summer tan that went beautifully with her eyes. Her golden auburn hair that swept past her shoulders was silky soft to the touch and he longed to run his fingers through it. Her mouth was a deep pink color and he felt a great urge to kiss them. He wanted to tell her that it was all going to be alright, he was here for her. He wanted to protect her from heartache, but most of all, he wanted to kiss her problems away...

"Syaoran...Syaoran...Syaoran"

Syaoran jumped slightly and quickly looked away from Sakura. He couldn't believe it, he was actually thinking of kissing her!

"I-I-I'm not feeling too well"  
Syaoran said as he quickly got up from the couch. Sakura got up too and placed a hand on his back.

"What's wrong, do you feel sick?"  
Syaoran's avoided her eyes and pretended as he was looking around his apartment for something.

"Syaoran, what's wrong? You look pale."  
"I'm not feeling well."  
He answered as normally as he could. He let out a sigh, trying to gain back his composure and opened the door.

"I'm going to take a nap, it's best that you leave."  
Sakura looked reluctant. She didn't want to leave Syaoran alone, what if suddenly he got worse?

"Are you sure? I could stay, you know, just in case that--"

"NO! I umm.."

He cleared his throat and tried to remain calm as he ignored Sakura's confused/worried look.

"I just need some rest. Please, just...go."

Sakura realized that he wasn't going to change her mind, plus she didn't want to upset him anymore than he already seemed to be.

"Alright, good bye Syao--"

Her eyes opened wide in surprise as the door closed as soon as she stepped out. She didn't know whether to feel hurt or upset. Everything was alright and then suddenly Syaoran's attitude changed. Still thinking about that, she slowly made her way to the elevator. Once making up her mind that she would call to check on him later, she pressed the down button and waited for the elevator.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syaoran leaned against the door and took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"What the hell is wrong with me?!"  
He growled angrily. This couldn't be happening, there was no way this was happening! Out of all people, it had to be _her_! A picture of his long gone friend came to his mind and a wave of guilt came over him. He walked over to the bathroom and decided to take a shower, at least that would calm him down. He turned to look at himself in the mirror and couldn't help but feel angry as he stared at himself in the mirror.

"No...There's no way"  
He muttered as he stared at himself coldly.

"I can't be falling in love with her, I won't _allow _myself to fall in love with her"

That was it, he had made his mind up. A relationship between the two of them was impossible. He was going to fight off these newborn feelings...

-To be continued-

Starrie: well, that's all for now folks! I hope you all liked it! Oh yeah and Final Fantasy Princess (Bren): WAAAII!!! Congrats on passing your driving exam! –does a small cheer- I knew my drunken 2am phone call would give you luck!! Muwahaha just think of it as pay back for that time_ you_ were drunk and woke me up at 2am with _your _CALL!! -innocent grin- I posted this chappie as a present for passing your driving exam, way to go missy!!!....about damn time too! You're almost 19… -grins evilly-


End file.
